


The one where everyone gets hurt

by SlightlyManicMonday



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: ABC's of hurt, Everyone Needs A Hug, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Gen, Hurt, Hurt Allura (Voltron), Hurt Coran (Voltron), Hurt Hunk (Voltron), Hurt Keith (Voltron), Hurt Lance (Voltron), Hurt Pidge | Katie Holt, Hurt Shiro (Voltron), I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm taking suggestions, Oh, Pidge is my favorite SO, SEASON 6 WTF, The space mice might be in this one, Why Did I Write This?, because i'm the worst, but - Freeform, how does one even tag?!, someone take away my internet privleges, still TBD, yea
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-18
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2019-05-23 05:15:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14927819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlightlyManicMonday/pseuds/SlightlyManicMonday
Summary: Fighting an intergalactic space battle ins't always easy. Sometimes, even the strongest get knocked down.-----This WAS going to be a 27 multi-shot fic featuring the paladins and some sort of injury. but I gave up, so here you go.





	1. Shiro

* * *

 

Get in, get out. That’s what Shiro had told her.

“Pidge, just get in, get out. All we need is a breech in their security to get those shields down. That’s it, got it?”

“Copy that Shiro, moving in with my lion.”

He should’ve known that she would’ve gotten distracted. The young girl had great intentions, but she was extremely foolish sometimes. She knew the risks, but took them anyways. He had made a promise to Matt, to Sam, to keep her safe. She never had to know, but Shiro was never one to break a promise.

So when she hadn’t radioed in after the 5 minute mark, Shiro went in.

“Hunk, Lance, destroy those fighters, i’m going in to make sure Pidge got out safe.”

“Copy that Shiro, Keith- cover us while we move in.”

“You got it, Hunk.”

Now he was stalking through the halls of the base, trying to find her. The plan was to go in, free the prisoners who were forced to mine the planets ore, and destroy the base on the planets surface. Only the green lion had stealth tech, so Pidge was the one to sneak into the base. She was the one who was going to save 1/3 of the slaves held hostage under a particle barrier. She was 15 years old, and it was up to her to save thousands of lives. 

Why had he been so reckless as to let her go in alone? 

When he had finally found the green lion- landed in the forest nearest to the base- his heart sunk to find it empty. Even if the particle barrier had already been de-activated for near minutes, she still failed to radio in. 

Rounding a suspicious corner, Shiro hears the slight bustle of a few Galran soldiers. 

“There was a breach in out security, one of the Voltron paladins deactivated the particle barrier surrounding the housing block. The hostages we _had_ are now free and assisting with the rebellion.”

A frustrated grunt, and the next words were said through gritted teeth

“Find the Paladin, take them prisoner. If we have one of their own, they are sure to lay down their weapons and possibly Voltron.”

Shiro’s heart drops into his stomach, and he can feel it pick up its beat. It was good they had not yet found her, _but_ it was bad that they were after her. He ducks his head behind the corner just in time to miss the gaze from one of the soldiers.

“We have his general location sir, I have already dispatched centuries to that wing. We should have our prize in no time.”

“Vrepit sa.” 

“Vrepit sa.” 

This was not good, very not good. He had to find her before _they_ found her. How long that would take, he was unsure. So without wasting another second, he turns yet another corner continuing his search. 

The halls never seemed to end, constantly bathed in mauve light. It was blinding and slightly sickening. That wretched color of purple always brought horrific memories back to him. It hurt, but he swallows them down, trying to focus on the task at hand. 

Find Pidge. Make sure she is ok. Get them both out of there. 

He can hear footsteps approaching his from a nearby intersection. Instinct takes over as he finds a small storage closet to duck into for cover. Much to his surprise, he wasn’t alone in there. So, when he is being pulled back against the wall by their smallest paladin with such force, he is no doubt _very_ confused. 

“Pidge?! Where have you been? Why didn’t you radio-“

“Shut-up”, she puts a small finger to her mouth, looking through the vents that view into the corridors of the base. 

“Did you just tell me to-“

“SHHHH”, this time the finger is placed on his mouth as her stare never breaks from the hall. 

Just on cue, 8 centuries pass by the door continuing on down the hall. The blood drains from his face when he becomes aware of his foolish mistake. 

After standing in focused silence, Shiro is the first to break it when he knows the coast is clear. “Why didn’t you radio in? All of us thought you were hurt-“

“The general who runs this base caught me deactivating the particle barrier. In order to jam his distress signal I had to block any outgoing communications. Shiro, i’m sorry, but I _had_ to.”

Her shoulders are tense, her Bayard gripped tightly in her grasp. He can feel her limp from across the closet, but he chooses not to mention it. 

“The general?” He dares to ask, knowing what her answer was likely to be.

“I had to do what I had to do.”

She said it so blankly that Shiro could’ve sworn she was a well seasoned solider, not a 15 year-old girl who had lost her father and brother all on the same day. 

“Pidge-“

“Save it Shiro, i’m fine. We need to get back to the lions and blow this base up before they can break my jamming signal and call for reinforcements.”

She wasn't wrong. They needed to get out of this closet and get out of this wretched place. 

“Ok, I’ll take point, you cover my back.”

He thought they would have encountered more troops than they did, but the two hadn’t run into a single century whilst making their way back to the exit. 

It wasn't a surprise when they found the exit was locked down.

“Give me a minute, I can crack the lock code.”

It never failed to amaze him how talented she was. He reminded her almost _too_ much of Matt, and it was no surprise that she was _his_ sister. So smart and so talented. 

When he saw the small group on centuries round the corner, he couldn’t find the words. Shiro had thought she was watching her back when she was hacking the control panel. He was so sure she had seen the centuries. Her eyes trained on something he didn’t recognize, there was no time to warn her. 

Muscle memory seized control of his body. The century had its gun raised, and before he could think his actions through, he was stepping in front of her. 

A flair of energy ripped through his chest as he collapsed in pain, saving Pidge from the shot. 

“Shiro!” 

That was the only thing he could hear through the pulsing beat in his ears. Everything was starting to fuzz around the edges as he could only make out blur of purple and green colliding with a harsh _tang._ Everything was beginning to blur together, and he couldn’t quite tell if she had taken out the centuries, or if the centuries had just made him taking that shot for nothing. 

With sigh of relief, he can hear her voice, once again, loud and clear. “Shiro, hey please say your ok. Just tell me you can hear me. Say something”, he can feel a gloved hand on his cheek. “Just say anything.”

He opens his eyes just enough to see Pidge looming over him, sporting a split lip. 

“I’m fine, i’m just fine”, he manages, feeling blood pooling beneath him. 

“Ok, ok”, she seems to be reassuring herself but he doesn’t take to much notice. “I’m going to get you out of here got it? Just, um… don’t fall asleep.”

He nods, grinding his teeth in pain. When she disappears from his view, he closes his eyes for a quick moment. He would’ve stepped in front of her under any circumstance, if it meant she could be reunited with her family once more.

A metallic whoosh soothes his thoughts, as he feels a sudden pain ripple through his chest. Only allowing a groan to escape, he can feel himself being dragged through the escape door. She had done it.

“Shiro.” 

He was now propped up against something harder, opening his eyes again to find Pidge. When had she gotten that bruise on her chin? 

“Please stay awake, ok? Just-“ He can see her lip quiver for a moment, tears streaking their way down her face. “Um, breathe, ok? Just stay awake, _for me_.”

He dares to speak, nodding instead. A familiar metallic taste stings the edge of his tongue, and he groans with the movement. 

She had her arms secured beneath his armpits and was dragging him through the muddy foliage into the forest. Shiro could hear distant explosions, and mulled over shouting from locals. Thankfully, nobody had noticed them, as Pidge continued to drag him further into the brush. 

They were a solid mile away from their lions, and he couldn’t help but feel so helpless. Pidge was strong, but not nearly strong enough to carry him. Now, she was _dragging_ his limp body through mud and dirt, which only made it harder. He could hear her pants, as he fought to stay conscious. 

He wanted to say something. To tell her to just get out of there, but he knew she would never leave him behind. Knowing this, he clenches his teeth through each tug, as it send ripples of pain through his body. 

There is a sudden jolt as Pidge slips in the mud, and all he can hear is a dull _crack_ before the movement continues moments later. 

At this point, he wasn’t sure how much blood he had lost. What he could make up of the trail they were leaving behind, blood was covering everything they had touched. Plants, pebbles, even the mud had a tint of crimson to it. At this rate, she was never going to get back to the lions in time. 

As if answering his thought, Red comes into view overhead. 

_When had Pidge radioed Keith? Was that actually Red? Maybe it was blue and I am only seeing Red because of the blood loss…_

Each thought was mulled over when the ground shakes under the lions weight. He wants to stand, but the feeling in his legs had left _long_ ago, mulling over with the blood loss. He could hear Pidge’s sniffles as a firm grip heaves him to his feet. 

“I’ve got you.”

To Shiro, it sounded like Keith, but the pace they were moving at made him assume Hunk. He couldn’t tell, as everything was beginning to fade to black. Soon enough, he was pulled under the surface, letting unconsciousness claim his body. 

* * *

Dreams are usually never kind to Shiro, usually waking in a cold sweat from the new memory of his time as a Galran prisoner. Now, they were peaceful. Kind words filter through his mind and he can hear muffled and dulled conversations through the dreams. Before long he was met with a wave of cold, as his body is once again reunited with the inside of a healing pod.

* * *

 

Shiro had been in the healing-pod for a day now. Pidge had refused to leave his side, blaming herself for his injuries.

“You didn’t shoot him, the Galra did!”

“If I had been watching my back, then maybe he wouldn’t even be in this situation!”

Keith knew she would never listen to any of them, but it was always worth trying. With much help from Coran, they were able to get her to at least shower and change into something cleaner and less _bloody._

So when she had re-entered the medbay with blankets and pillows, Keith had then taken notice to her wrist. It was an awful purple color, bending in an odd direction. He chose his next words carefully.

“Maybe we should do something about that wrist of yours.”

He could see the reservation behind her eyes, but she said nothing. The only noise was the steady rise and fall of Shiro’s chest in the pod. Before he could say anything else, tears were streaming down her face and he was suddenly glued in place.

He had never seen Pidge cry, _ever._ Heck, he had never even seen Lance cry until he had an asthma attack a few weeks back. So, when it had struck him that she was actually crying, his feet had suddenly glued themselves in place and his blood had run an eerie cold. 

“I slipped in the mud-“ _Sniff_ “-And I didn’t say anything because Shiro was dying-“ _sniff_ “-and I didn't know what to do-“ _sniff_ “-and all of it was just such a blur-“

Before the girl can finish Keith is hugging her. He didn’t know where it had come from and he was half expecting her to pull away, but she hugged back with her good hand. 

“You did good kid. you did good.”

5 days later, Shiro finally emerged. Thankfully, Keith was there to help their leader down from the pod.He was a sickly pale, and Keith could feel the cold through his bones. It had been one of the few rare occasions in which Pidge _was_ actually asleep, head resting on a pillow Coran had given her.

“Shiro”, Keith tried to get his attention, but his gaze was firmly settled on Pidge. He let out a sigh looking back to his grey eyes.

Keith could see the fond smile forming across his friends face. “She was brave”, Shiro nodded to the small sleeping figure. 

“She was”, Keith nodded, remembering what Pidge had told all of them. “Apparently she dragged you fora whole mile through the forest, with a broken wrist.” This caught Shiro’s attention, his gaze filtering to Keith. “She told me she slipped in the mud, and scans confirmed that the bone was completely shattered.” Shiro looked speechless as they both watched the sleeping girl in silence. 

“Is she ok?”

What caught Shiro off guard was Keith’s laugh. “Is _she_ ok?! Are you kidding? The question you have yet to ask is ‘Am _I_ ok’?” Pointing a finger at Shiro’s chest, he continues to chuckle lightly. “I think you need to get your priorities in check.”

“I made a promise.”

With that, Keith cocked an eyebrow. “You did what now?”

“Matt. I made a promise to Matt that I would keep her safe.”

Realization struck him like a wave, feeling a pang of resentment towards Shiro. He knew Shiro was never one to break a promise, and that meant dying if he had to keep that promise. Pidge had told them that he stepped in front of her to take the shot. 

It wasn’t the best quality, but to some extent, it made him starkly loyal. He valued that. Anyone valued such loyalty, which is why he made such a great leader. 

Before he could speak again, Lance and Hunk had walked into the room, colliding into Shiro with two huge hugs. 

“We thought you were going to die!” Lance said, oddly happily.

“ _Lance!_ ” Hunk shot him a look before nodding to Shiro. “We are _really_ glad that you are ok man.”

“I’m glad that i’m not dead”, Shiro humors Lance, allowing him a moment of laughter. 

With that, Keith left Shiro’s side to lift Pidge into his arms. For being 15, she was awfully small. In other circumstances he would be concerned, but instead he lifts her sleeping figure away from the hard ground. 

Hunk laughs to himself, “This is the first she has slept in a while-“ 

“A while?” Shiro deadpans, knowing it was probably longer than ‘a while’. For being the youngest, she kept the most absurd hours, even Shiro got more sleep than her. 

“Trust me, we tried everything, but nothing worked.” Keith shrugs, gently setting her bandaged wrist on her stomach. “She probably won’t be to happy when she realizes that we didn’t wake her up when you did.”

“Nose goes, i’m not going to be the one who tells her that!” Lance drops quickly to one knee, staring blankly when no-one joins him there. “Just me then…” He looks around expecting a reaction and is met with none. “Alrighty!” He stands once again shrugging.

“At least you didn’t have to drug her this time!” Lance elbows Shiro weakly, earning him a tense glare, which immediately stopped him from doing it anymore.

“Man, we were loosing you there for a moment”, Hunk adds. “She saved _your_ life!”

“I guess she did…” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After the serious hit I took after watching season 6- I'M NOT OK.
> 
> Basically everything is fucked up now, and i'm just over here wheezing for air. Like someone PLEASE HELP ME BREATHE.
> 
> This specific fic will stay relevant to it's own timeline, referencing previous chapters and keeping a coherent universe. With this being said. The time line may progress through seasons including #NOTMYSPACEDAD in some chapters. This may or may not happen, but I want to see where it goes.
> 
> ok, ok, i'll stop blabbling. please just take a DEEP breath and live with the fact that none of us will ever recover from this shit season 6 threw at us...


	2. Lance

* * *

 

“Hey short stop, what you got there?”

Lance pulls up next to Pidge, knocking her slightly in the shoulder. Resting precariously in her arms is a laptop and a half empty mug of space coffee. The glare she shoots his way is not a welcoming one, but he persists, nonetheless. 

“I see another late night, eh? At this rate you’ll beat out Shiro for being the night ow-“

Before he can finish his thought, Pidge is ramming her elbow right into his side. He doubles over, about to say something when he finds that she is nowhere in sight.

“Never one to stick around”, Lance adjusts his jacket, double checking to make sure there were no broken ribs at the impact site. 

Just because Pidge is small, has never meant she couldn't give a grown man a beating. Once, Shiro had gone to wake her up and he returned with multiple scratch marks, and was he favoring his left leg? 

Lance laughs at the memory, knowing that will never stop him from teasing her.

So, without another care in the world, he moves to his original destination- The Kitchen. He is sure Hunk is there, whipping up some sort of delicious morning meal. Knowing that Pidge was probably headed there too didn’t stop him. So when he rounds the corner to find Pidge coding, sipping a new mug of space coffee, and Hunk cooking, he can’t help but smile.

“Where is Coran?” He shoots at Hunk, who is deep in thought whilst looking at an Altean cookbook. “I thought he revoked your kitchen privileges afterthe whole ‘Scaultrite’ incident?” 

He looks in Lance’s direction, smiling slightly. “Yea, but I un-revoked them. There are so many cool recipes and weird alien ingredients that I have yet to add to my pallet-“

“What’s a pallet?” Keith adds, sauntering into the kitchen, sitting down next to Pidge. 

“You don’t know what a pallet is mullet? No wonder you got booted from the Garrison!” Lance quips, eyeing Keith with the intent to start a fight. 

He stands, his chair sliding back from the sudden movement. “I know what a pallet is! You’re the one who doesn’t know what a pallet is!” Keith points an accusing finger at Lance, who just shrugs and relaxes into his shoulders.

“I know what a pallet is! Heck, I invented the term!” Lance smirks, and Keith wasn’t buying it.

“Then what is is, hm?”

Keith had Lance on that one. Hunk was the food expert here, not him. “Well you know, its the thing… you- uh…”

“Hunk?” Keith looks to Hunk who has clearly taken no notice to the argument. At the mention of his name he look to Keith with a confused look flushed across his cheeks. “What’s a pallet?”

“Well, it’s like the variety of food you’ve eaten, and your ability to distinguish different foods- I guess”, He pauses, shrugs, then resumes sprinkling and odd colored spice over a pot of something boiling.

Keith looks at Lance, the look of ‘What did I tell you?’ written across his face. “Hey, no. Don’t look at me like that!” He raises his hands in surrender, “You started it.”

“I did not, _you_ did!” Keith shouts, inching ever closer to Lance.

“Did to!”

“Did not!”

“Did to!”

“Did not!”

“Uh, did to-“

“SHUT. UP!” The sudden shout even pulls Hunk out of his cooking. Everyone looks down at Pidge, who has curled her hands into fists, and placed them loosely on either side of her laptop. “It is to early for this _shit_! I’ve been awake all night coding and looking for my brother _and_ father and the only thing you two have been doing is wasting your time arguing! Everyone on this ship is just so _fucking_ useless!” 

With that she gathers the remains of her coffee and her laptop, as she storms out of the kitchen. 

A collective gasp comes from each teen, as they all stand dumfounded as to what she had just said. 

Not a single word was spoken after that, each of them eating Hunk’s cuisine in silence. You might even be able to hear a pin drop if you listened, but the silence was finally cut by Shiro entering the kitchen.

He raises a brow, stopping short when it appeared that both Lance and Keith were… getting along? Ok something was _definitely_ wrong here. 

“Ok, what happened?” Lance nearly drops his spoon when he speaks, face washing cold. Hunk shrugs and hides his expression. Keith stays silent, his back turned away from him. 

“I swear to God I did nothing wrong”, Lance raises his hands in defense, leaning back in his chair. 

Hunk’s head shakes gently from side to side, “Man, I’m not sure what happened. I was just cooking, I had nothing to do with it!”

Then Keith, who has stayed uncharacteristically silent, even for him. “I think you should talk to Pidge”, he never meets Shiro’s gaze, but it tells him enough of what he ‘supposed’ had just gone down. 

“All of you”, he demands pointing his finger at the door, “Go to the training deck now.”

Lance was the first to complain, “Oh, come on man-“

“ _Now._ ”

This was enough to get all three of the boys to stand, toss their dishes in what appeared to be a sink, and file out of the kitchen in an odd silence. 

The trio walked in cushioning silence to each of their rooms, parting ways one by one. It only took Lance a few short minutes to pull on his armor and head for the training deck. 

He knew, more than anyone, that when Shiro used his commanding ‘dad’ voice, he wasn't fooling around. It would be best not to waste time, so he begins to jog down the winding hallways, eventually reaching the training deck in a heaving mess. To his surprise, he had been the first to arrive. 

_I wonder where the rest of them are?_ , he thought blankly to himself. 

I mean, he _knew_ where they were. Shiro was most likely talking to Pidge, Hunk was probably still getting his armor on, and Keith was probably taking his _sweet_ time with walking down here. Lance didn’t mind being the first to arrive, taking the opportunity to check if he had his inhaler in his-

Oh no. 

“How could I have been so stupid?!” He snaps at himself aloud, patting everywhere along his armor. 

It was never like him to forget his inhaler, especially since only Pidge and Hunk knew he had asthma. It was never in him to fess up to Shiro or Keith, fearing that they would immediately scold him for how stupid it was.

He knew the risks. If the Garrison had known he had asthma then he would’ve never became a pilot. Pidge had offered to help falsify the documents, and Hunk was there to modify the testing equipment so it gave false readings. He could only hope that today wouldn’t be the day. 

He had, luckily, avoided it all this time, making it through each and every grueling training session they had done, and now he had nothing to secure his worry if the unexpected happened…

Right on que, Hunk and Keith both wander onto the deck- spotting Lance’s worried look. Keith just glares his way, immediately firing back a similar expression. Hunk follows the interaction steadily with his eyes, wondering if the two of them will ever get along…

“Alright!” A sudden shout pulls the three of their attentions to Shiro, who enter the rooms alone.

_Where was Pidge? Was she ok? I hope I didn’t hurt her feelings to much…_

All of Lance’s thoughts are cut off by Shiro, who begins to talk them through todays training exercise. “Since we have lately _only_ been working on strength and tactics, as a group we need to get better at our endurance.”

Lance’s heart bottoms out, dropping like a pit right into his already upset stomach. He didn’t have his inhaler, and this was going to be the end of him. He looks to Hunk, silently pleading, but the older boy doesn’t notice. He was on his own on this one. 

Endurance. _Endurance._ Endurance was what Lance had none of. If Shiro had meant endurance in terms of running, then he was _definitely_ on his own with this one…

“We will begin with 20 push-ups then run a lap around the deck.”

Not a word was spoken about Pidge, and that had Lance slightly worried. Before he could speak up, Shiro was prompting all of them to begin. Keith was the first to hit the ground, using the sudden momentum to his advantage.

There was no way that Lance was going to let that mullet head out-perform him in front of Shiro. So without a beat, he was on the ground beginning the count. Keith was done slightly before him, which prompted Lance to stop a push-up too soon, running ahead of the Red Paladin. 

“Asta luego, _Keith_!” Lance shouts over his shoulder as he passes him easily. 

This didn't hold for long as the two were soon sprinting to finish. When they both reach the end, Lance only lets out a cough. “I _totally_ beat you on that one”, he says, sputtering slightly between words. 

Shiro glides to an easy stop, not even out of breath. Hunk is right behind him, surprisingly breathing easily. “Ok, now do it again.”

“Uh- excuse me?” Lance straightens from his bent over position, eyeing Shiro. 

“Do it again.”

He spares no words as Lance and Keith repeat their previous endeavor. Racing one another to the very end, Shiro and Hunk finishing in a similar fashion. 

“Ok, now, do it again”, Shiro says, barely breaking a sweat. Of course the guy was barely tired, he was probably the strongest of all of them, and this didn’t surprise Lance.

This continued on for about an hour. Lance and Keith would race to the end, bicker about who finished first, and then be prompted to ‘Do It Again’. Over and over, until Lance had started to notice how either he was slowing down, or Shiro was getting faster. By the 19th time they had gone around, Hunk had tagged out. The poor guy was probably stronger than Shiro, but always had a hard time with running or exercising in general. 

Shiro nodded, allowing him to rest for a few laps. He then looked to Lance and Keith, a smirk forming across his face. “You guys need a break too?”

It would’ve been a taunt if Lance hadn’t known Shiro was trying to egg him on. And usually, Lance would’ve said ‘yes’, because he was starting to feel his chest tightening and it was getting even harder to breathe each time around. 

“I could do this all day”, Lance sputters between breaths, Shiro looking unconvinced. 

“Same here”, Keith adds, shooting Lance a testy grin. 

“Then, let’s do it again”, his Galra hand twirling in a circular motion. 

This time had been slightly different. Since noticing the tightening in his chest, Lance’s vision began to blur as he was on his 13th push-up. Then came the labored breathing, and when he began to run it all fell apart. The world began to spin and he collapsed mid step, chocking for air. 

“Lance!” It was Shiro who was by his side now, propping him up for air. 

Nothing was coming. He would breath in, but no air would enter his lungs. He tried to pry away his chest plate, trying to release some of the pressure, but it wasn’t coming off. 

“Lance, talk to me. What’s wrong?” Was that Shiro speaking? He couldn’t tell. There was only the restricting of his airway as he gasped for air. 

“Move over”, it was defiantly Hunk speaking now. Good, he would know what to do. “Shiro get his chest plate off-“

Most of the boys words were beginning to fade away, as Lance could feel himself starting to loose consciousness. His eyes flitted, only barely staying open at this point. There was a muffled shout as a pair of footsteps thundered into the distance. He just needed his inhaler- if only he had brought it…

Before the thoughts can continue to filter through his mind, he is pulled under into the darkness. The light faded away, and he could feel himself stop breathing. Was this death? He never knew it could be so dark…

Even before he could examine “Death”, a sudden burst or air brings his consciousness back to his body. The light burns in his eyes, but he slowly begins to take in air. A cold hand rests on the back of his neck, while he feels the familiar plastic of the inhaler reach his mouth. He sucked in the air, savoring the feeling as it swept down his throat. Every breath he took was a battle, but eventually, his hearing returned.

“-e’s awake, you guys he’s breathing!” This, he could tell was Keith. Lance dared to smile at the fact that his ‘arch-nemesis’ actually cared about his well being. 

“Hey, buddy. Just breath ok? Just take big breaths for me-“ that was most definitely Hunk, yellow blurring his vision. 

“I got him, I’ll take him up to Coran and see what he can do”, that had to be Shiro, sounding so diplomatic. “You two let him know i’m coming.”

What was strange, was the sudden feeling of being lifted. The sudden movement made him want to hurl his insides out, but he just continued to take struggled breaths. 

Lance was so out of it, that before he could comprehend moving, he could hear Coran speaking to whomever was carrying him. “We could try putting him in a pod? I’m not sure what good this would do for him…”

He wanted to say that all he needed was oxygen, but someone had other plans. “Maybe so… I’ll take him there, you get the pod ready.”

“Yes, sir”, he could almost hear Coran saluting, in a humorous manner, as his steps fading away. 

“No, pod-“ he coughs out. Breathing was still difficult, but he was beginning to find his voice, slowly but surely.

“It’s ok buddy, I got you.”

“No. Just. Need. Oxey-“ Before Lance could finish, he was erupting into a coughing fit, struggling to take in more air. 

“Easy, easy there”, Shiro was definitely the one who was carrying him, almost like a child. It felt weird, and Lance would’ve been embarrassed under other circumstances. He felt like a child, not telling his team the truth about his asthma. What would they think?

“Hey! Coran! Do you by chance have oxygen tanks?”

Before long, Lance was settled into a bed in the med-bay, a breathing mask attached to his face. Sleep tugged at his body, but every now and then he was shaken awake before he could let it take him away. He was slightly glad no one had scolded him or reprimanded him for not telling most of them, but it was only a matter of time.

For now, Lance fought sleep, taking every breath easier over time. After what felt like hours, he was finally breathing on his own. Thankful to Hunk- who, turns out, told Shiro, Keith, Coran, and Allura about his asthma- but also thankful to Shiro and Keith who had yet to scold him for not being honest. 

“I’m sorry”, he sputters out, grabbing the attention of the entire team who had been sitting by his bed for hours now, just waiting for him to recover- aside from Pidge, who he assumed was else where, doing other things un denounced to him. 

“There is nothing to be sorry for buddy. It’s not your fault”, Hunk said squeezing his shoulder reassuringly- knowing what was about to come. 

“But”, he pauses taking a big breath, “I never told anyone else. I should’ve been honest and-“

“It’s ok”, soft words coming from Shiro, who was sitting next to a… _Sad looking Keith?_ “We aren’t mad, but we just wish that you would have told us sooner.” 

It amazes Lance how Shiro was able to do that thing he always does. Where he should be mad, but he isn’t and when he softens his tone so much its like butter on toast. 

“And Pidge?”

Silence fell upon the group, and Shiro was the only one who spoke up. “She is currently asleep, hadn’t slept in over 3 days.”

Lance’s jaw almost dropped to the ground, he had never known that she was _that_ much of a night owl. 

“She resisted it for a while, but I had Coran slip her some sedative before I came down to the training deck.”

“Classic Pidge”, he scoffed to himself.  

“Got that right”, this time Keith spoke, and it took everyone off guard. 

“Wait, did you just make a joke?!” Lance spoke, trying to keep his breathing steady.

“Who ever said I _couldn’t_ make jokes?!” He shook his head, looking confused. 

“I thought you needed _emotions_ other than emo to make jokes!” Lance was tempted to slap his thigh, but he resisted the urge. 

“I have emotions, I just _choose_ to keep my mouth shut, unlike _someone_ I know!” He points a finger.

With that, everyone erupted into laughter with Lance, even Keith was chuckling slightly. 

“Yea, I think he’s going to be just fine”, Hunk quips between laughter. 

_ Yea, he was going to be just fine… _


	3. Concussion (Hunk)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Over_Sized_Plushee.exe has stopped working.

It was cold, and damp, and smelled like an uncleaned urinal stall. Hunk always hated places like this one, where it _was,_ in fact, cold, damp, and smelled gross. The fog hanging low to the ground created an eerie reflection from their gauntlet lights. 

“This place is gross, maybe we should just head back you guys.”  He was never one to complain, but Hunk wouldn’t mind a nice warm shower right now. 

“You were the one who suggested we go in on foot-“

Lance wasn’t wrong, he _had_ been the one who suggested they go on foot. It was mostly due to the dense vegetation that blanketed the planets surface, but Hunk had never pictured it looking like _this_ beneath the trees. From overhead, the trees looked like acacia trees, red bark reflecting of of the planets sunset. Below the thick vegetation, it suddenly made more sense to Hunk. An entirely new world was hidden beneath the foliage, revealing the equivalent of a swamp. 

Red tree roots branched out, connecting each and every tree with a thick tendril of wood. Beneath the tangle of roots, small pools of black water collected along the tangles, and small creatures would occasionally flit to the surface. It was, by all means, interesting, but still gross.

“Just focus on the mission, everybody. Stay in formation, we are approaching the base.”

Voice muffled by his helmet, Shiro sounds so diplomatic during times like this. So, he listened, forwarding his attention to not falling flat on his face over the tangle of roots and dark pools of liquid. Pidge had found one of the key data centers that the Galra used in this system. If they could block off all in coming and outgoing transmissions, it would allow for the liberation of _all_ of the planets in the system. 

Hunk could admit, he was nervous. Most of that being the fear of something looking at him through the dark pools of water, but also screwing up. Pidge had to do 99% hacking, but it was all up to Hunk to transfix the panels so they could be hacked in the first place. 

“Approaching the base, everyone form up”, Shiro sounds from in front of him. He follows loyally, griping his Bayard ever tighter. As they near the only source of light from the swamp Shiro sounds again, “Everyone, shut off your gauntlets.”

The light of the base becomes more apparent with each of our lights turned off, the purple bathing the swamp in an eerie glow. Why the Galra chose purple of all the colors, was a misery to Hunk. Maybe it was because of their skin, or rather fur in some cases?

Ignoring his thoughts he pressed on. 

“Ok, Pidge, work your magic”, Shiro looks back to Pidge, who darts forward to hack into the exterior console guarding the exit. 

They had reached the ‘back door’, filing through once Pidge had opened it. Strangely, they never ran into _any_ centuries on the way in, which sounded more than one alarm bells in Hunk’s head. Keith and Lance had been silently communicating, telling Hunk he wasn’t the only one who was concerned. 

Pidge led the group, following a rough map that illuminated from her wrist. 

Everyone had an unspoken agreement to _not_ speak, for fear that the Galra really knew their sly intentions. But, if anyone was to break that unspoken agreement, it _had_ to be lance.

“I have a bad feeling about this you guys.”

“Stop quoting movies Lance, I could really use the quiet”, Pidge snapped at the older boy, who only raised his hands in defense.

“It was un-intentional quote- besides, it’s true.”

This time it was Shiro who spoke, voice just below a whisper, “Stay focused.”

“Shiro is right”, Pidge adds. “Two more lefts turns and then we are at the control center.”

And, just as expected, two left turns later, the group was met by two over sized doors. They loomed dark and tall over them, and even Hunk felt small.

“Ok Hunk, work your magic”, Pidge shot back to him, and he hadn’t realized he had been starring at the large doors for quite some time. With a nod, he de-activated his Bayard, gentle hands moving aside the door panel. 

He wasn’t a tech genius like Pidge, but this was something that Pidge was unable to do. Transfixing the panels required a skillset that only Hunk had. Moving aside wires of different colors and shapes, his hands meet the transomrapher. 

The transomgrapher was the alien version of an i-phone. Rather than be used as a hand help device, apparently the Galra installed them all a link to communicate the actions of each and every control panel. In order to access this specific hub- the transomrapher had to be de-activated, and that was something Pidge could _not_ do. She never got the end of it from Lance, but he had settled on taking the job. 

“Hunk, hurry it up will ya?!” Lance looks frantic behind Hunk, clutching his bayard almost too tightly. 

“Just one more second-“ His finger finds the switch, ands it’s clear from there. “Got it!” Hunk cheers it triumph. 

Without a second word, Keith and Shiro move forward, sweeping the empty control room.

_Wait. Empty?_

The question does backflips in his mind, and his heart tumbles into his stomach. 

“What happened to the heavily guarded base?!” Lance opens his arms, Bayard swinging wildly. 

“Keith”, Shiro looks towards the boy, “Stay with Pidge while she finishes the de-coding sequence.”

Keith nods, looking over his shoulder to the little girl standing, arms folded across her chest in slight protest. No words leave her pained expression, but ‘I don’t need a babysitter, Shiro’ or ‘I can handle myself’ come to Hunk’s mind, but nonetheless she stays silent.

“Lance, Hunk”, the sound of his name, moves Hunk’s attention away from Pidge and to their leader. “The three of us will sweep the halls again to be _sure_ we didn’t miss anything… Something about this seems…”

“Fishy?” Lance cuts Shiro, earning a glare from the man. “Just saying!” Lance raises his hand in protest, re-activating his Bayard.

When he de-activated it, Hunk was unsure. With a hefty grunt, lifting his Bayard to the ready, the trio leaves Keith and Pidge to their devices. They barely made it half way back when Pidge’s panicked voice cuts through the com.

“You guys! It's a tarp! There- there is a bomb. Oh god- the entire base is set to blow!” Hunk can justt imagine her wide panicked eyes, Keith’s guarded stance, and her voice cuts through again. “Get out. All of you, get out! The bomb- oh god…”

“Pidge, where is the bomb? Maybe we can-“

“No- Shiro, get out. I’m trying to de-activate it but the control room has Keith and I sealed in.”

“Sealed in? But that means-“

“No, Hunk. The control room will survive the blast, everything else though…”

And a shudder travels from Hunk’s neck down to his heel. Cheeks drained of all color, he turns to Shiro for answers. This is when he see’s it. The blank expression drawn in his eye, the paling of his already white skin, fear evident in his eyes. Hunk hated to see someone he followed so closely, _scared._

“Shiro-“ Now it’s Keith who’s worried tone fills Hunk’s busy thoughts. “Run- get out.”

There is no spoken agreement here, only the pounding of their hearts as the trio moves with never before-seen speed. And for a moment, Hunk thinks he might falter. His calves ache, they scream in agony as he tries to catch up with Shiro and Lance. He knows he isn’t the fastest, but his heart says otherwise. Painted with the courage of a paladin, his legs begin to push harder against the metal floors. 

Boots collide with an eerie echo through the halls, the only sound that exists aside from heavy breathing and labored sighs. 

“You guys have 30 seconds, so hurry the _fuck_ up.” Keith’s comment would’ve earned a lecture from Shiro, a giggle from Pidge, and a proud smirk from Lance, but the quip in his voice wavers, silently moving the group faster. 

They are mere feet from the exit when the world turns to sudden ash. You would assume it would’ve been slow, the explosion chasing the three through the door until it blew them several feet clear of the base, but you would be wrong. everything went black all at once, and before Pidge’s voice could tell them to take cover, the building was collapsing around them.

Hunk’s heart hammered in his throat, the world around him crumbling to pieces. 

All the noise faded into black when he saw a sizable chuck or ceiling toppling towards his best friend. Hunk’s body took over, pushing Lance far away from the cement piece, only to find a piercing pain shoot up and down his back, and before he could take another breath, the world was black.

* * *

 

It took Lance a few quick seconds to realize what had just happened. The building quickly crumbling around him, he could only make out the glint of the yellow armor. His heart leaped into his throat when the slight glint of blood plastered itself across the rubbled ground. 

You can imagine a pile of cement, but rather imagine it was purple and a hard alloy of ‘something Lance never understood’. He shrugged away the thought, moving away from the dusted ground. His once white armor was now scuffed with black marks, decorating it colorfully. 

So, it was no wonder when he moved to stand that a star pain shot right up his left thigh. Lance grits his teeth in protest of the pain, moving to his buried friend. Shiro soon arrived at his side, eyes wider than a deer in headlights. They were both frozen, most of the building was still shaking, yet they remained still staring down at Hunk, at their friend, their _family._

It was always hard to ever see Hunk hurt, he seemed so impervious to everything. Lance forces down a sob when Shiro moves to check Hunk’s pulse. Most of the ruble had fallen in cracked pieces around the boy, but one large chunk pinned his head and right shoulder tightly to the ground. 

Shiro looks back at him, worry in his dark eyes. “He’s alive but barely..”

When he pauses, Lance can’t help but feel the guilt waft over him like a wave. “He pushed me, I didn’t know-“

“Lance, it’s not your fault.” 

The words were so honest, and Lance spares a curt nod to Shiro- not in the mood to argue his point. A large rumble makes the two stutter back, the building quickly falling apart. Pidge and Keith had gone radio silent, but a bomb had just blew up the entire base- so it didn’t surprise Lance.

“Quick, help me move this chunk, we need to get out of here before we end up like him.”

The comment stung, Shiro wincing at the realization at what he had just said. The large rock had completely trapped Hunk’s head. Lance knew the Paladin armor could only do so much for a person.

Without hesitation, Lance moves across from Shiro’s position over Hunk, griping the opposite side of the piece.

“Ok”, Shiro looks across to Lance, his scar barely showing in the dim light. “On the count of three. One-“

Lance takes a deep breath, swallowing the biting pain on his leg.

“two-“

Another big breath, his grip tightening on the rock.

“three-“

They both heft upwards, backs screaming in protest, but never daring to drop the piece. Slowly, the two shuffle the chunk away from Hunk. Lance’s back is beginning to falter, and not a second to soon as they receive the clearance to drop the rock with a loud _thunk._

Hunk moans lightly, prompting Lance to stop stretching out his back and quickly move to the boy's side. His eyes remained close, but his face is contorted in pain, as if he had been sucking on a lemon. 

“We need to get him out of here and into a pod. Try to radio Pidge and Keith- make sure the control room really _did_ survive the blast.”

Without conformation, Lance over his finger to connect with the com button along the side of his helmet, re-activating it. “Pidge, Keith, are you guys ok?”

It was 10 heart pounding seconds of the distant settling of the destroyed building, Shiro’s heaved breaths, and Hunk’s groans before Pidge came through the other line. “We’re fine. Just bruises, you guys make it out?”

This was going to be the hardest part. Lance was close with Hunk, but ever since they had been tossed into this space battle, Pidge had grown attached to Hunk. Sparing her the details he explains what had happened, finishing with, “now we just need to leave before the entrance collapses and we get trapped.”

Lance can make out the tight waver in her voice, the strain almost too familiar. “We will get out through the escape hatch, and call the castle.” She pauses, and he can just imagine her pained expression as she looks to Keith. “Just hurry, the structure isn't going to be this stable for much longer…”

“Just take care of each other, ok?” It was Shiro who now spoke to Keith and Pidge.

“Always”, Keith mutters in response.

And with that, Lance and Shiro are soon dragging Hunk out of the dimly lit building into the swamp, his feet leaving long lines in the mud. Trudging through the mud was hard to begin with, but with your largest teammate strapped to your shoulder, its even harder. 

Feet occasionally slipping, and the muggy fog making it difficult to see in front of you, Lance remains surprised that hunk stays unconcious. But then he thinks about it, and suddenly his heart is racing, and his hands begin to shake and what if his friend will never wake u-

“Lance.” Shiro looks at him, Hunk blocking the majority of his face, but what he can see is concerned. Shiro has always had that special talent of knowing when you begin to panic. Lance never knew why. “He’ll be just fine, I promise.”

Looking to Hunk’s contorted face, this is when he first notices the steady stream of blood coming from his ears. His heart leaps into his throat and he feels like he might vomit. “Shiro, but what if he isn’t-“

“He will be just fine.”

“How can you be so sure? I mean-“

“Lance.” He looks away from the ground and right past Hunk, directly into those storm grey eyes. “I refuse to accept that when I know he has a better chance then anyone else I know.”

Lance opens his mouth to respond, but the loud crack and whizz of the castle ship echos through the swamp like a drum. For a moment, Lance thinks things might be ok. Things might just _actually_ be ok for once…

* * *

Things hadn’t actually been ok, in fact Hunk had a severe concussion and was now bed ridden for the next week. In and out of consciousness, the boy had thanked Lance for dragging his sorry ass out of that building like a bad ass.

“Hey! It wasn't just me, Shiro _also_ dragged your sorry ass out of that crumbling building.” 

“Language.” Shiro shoots Lance a glare, who was situated at the edge of Hunk’s bed. The lights in the room had been dimmed substantially, and Hunk had a billion pillows and blankets surrounding his head and neck. 

“OH MY GOSH” Pidge jumps up from her spot on the ground and points her finger into the air as if she had just had a brilliant idea. I mean she always did, so who’s to say she didn’t have one now? “I have a brilliant idea!”

Lance wasn’t wrong, that girl was always full of ideas. 

“Yes Pidge?” Shiro looks down to her, he had been leaning on the wall, arms crossed adjacent to the bed. 

“We should do a sleepover! Wait...  _do_ a sleepover. No, that doesn’t sound right…” Her finger taps along her chin lightly, pondering the thought further.

“That might not be the best idea, Pidge”, Shiro pans, looking down for conformation that he was right, but received a scowl.

“Well, I know Hunk needs his rest-“

“Yea, he really does”, Shiro once again looks down to see if his argument stands, receiving no notice from the girl.

“We could all just take watch and make sure nothing happens! And we could be quiet, and just eat food and share scary stories AND-“

“I like the sound of that”, Hunk mentions, his voice much quieter than everyone else’s.

This grabs the attention of everyone, even Keith looks up from his corner of the room. 

“Then it’s decided!” Lance jumps up, moving to Pidge.“Let’s go grab some pillows, and lot’s of snacks and-“

“Already on it!” Pidge was already leaving the room, Lance on her tail. 

Shiro leans farther into the wall, happily relived that everyone in this ‘family’ was always there for each other, even though the thickest of thicks. 

“I’m glad your ok, Hunk”, Keith perks up from his corner. He had recalled the events of the explosion to Hunk earlier, who had evidently forgotten about it.

“I’m glad too”, He mumbles, just enjoying the company of his friends, his _family._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I appreciate the suggestions and prompts and the love from all of you! Every new suggestion just keeps me motivated to keep this going. 
> 
> I wanted to give a special thanks to my friend fefe (love you BTW), for getting me through season 6 in one piece. I waited to finish it until she got back from her service trip, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. Happy Early Birthday Babe!
> 
> All of you are amazing!
> 
> -SlightlyManicMonday


	4. Keith

“Split back into lions, they can’t shoot all five of us at once.”

Shiro’s breathy voice came through in static chunks, Keith heaving to keep his eyes open. Every pushand pull of the control stick was beginning to show its ware. His muscles ached, his back stung with a sour sting each time he moved to straighten it. He wasn’t going to be able to endure much more of this.

So, without second thought, he pulls away from the mental connection Voltron possesses, trying to fly to the fringes of the chaos.

“They have me pinned down! I can’t- Agh”, Pidge’s com disconnects, and when Keith turns his lion, he notices why.

The four Galra cruisers that had been assaulting them for the past hour or so, now had Pidge drawn in a tractor beam.

“Hunk, destroy that tractor beam, we’ve got your back!” Shiro’svoice cuts in again, this time much clearer.

“On it!” Hunk dutifully replies, and Keith can see a flash of yellow blur his sensors.

Heaving the control forward, Keith nudges red to follow him. “Copy that, right behind ya.”

It was on and off, for a while. The last ‘major battle’ Voltron had seen was when Allura was captured, and Shiro recklessly rushed in with no ‘real plan’. Keith would’ve done the same for Allura, for anyone on his team, but it was still reckless, nonetheless.

There was a large blast, as both him, Shiro, and Lance bear down on the tractor beam. A colorful display of orange and red disperse from the blast sight, throwing the green lion away from the ship.

“Thanksguys”, Pidge replies, and, as if her lion is speaking for her, Green’s head turns towards the remaining of the team.

“You got it. Now let’s get out of here and land to make repairs.”

Shiro’s lion moves ahead of the group, flying towards a near-by planet.That planet was why they were in the quadrant.

Keotara (key-o-chra), is what they called it. Keith had never seen a planet so boastful of life. Even on Olkarion, the forests were smaller. Tree’s the size of sky scrapers extended high into the sky, reaching to touch any star that may dare to fall from the sky. The Galra had sent an entire fleet to conquer the peaceful world, only to be met by Voltron.

So after a long battle, the cruisers went up in magnificent flames, circling away from the planet orbit and into free space.

“Looks like the Galra are running off!” Lance hoots, but Shiro is quick to shunt the celebrations.

“Focus you guys, they could be back any moment. Lets land, make repairs, and return to orbit.”

_Well if they want to come back after getting completely blown up by us then that’s their own fault…_ Keith thought.

He didn’t dare say those words aloud, just keeping to himself. Like he always did, not that he wanted to change.

"Now, comes my favorite part!" Lance cheers.

A chorus of groans and exasperated sighs sound through the group, Keith's the loudest. 

"It's not all about the praise, Lance", Shiro, sounding diplomatic as ever. "Sometimes just doing the right thing is enough."

Keith can hear Lance's eye roll through the comm.

Anything any of them expected from the locals was far from what they received.

* * *

"Shiro!"

Lance's shout echoed through the com link, splitting the screech of battle. 

"What? Are you hurt?!" Shiro replies, worry laced with grunts and distant sounds of blaster fire. 

"Not me. Keith", he stays, matter of factly. Eyes landing on the unconscious form of the red paladin below him. His shoulder is slumping at an odd angle as he crouches down next to him. 

Lance's hands ghost his figure, unsure what to do, where to go. Biting back a worried sob he hears Shiro sound again through the comm.

"Where? I'm heading back to the lions as fast as I can, but you need to tell me what happened?" Shiro sounds strict, like a drill sergeant listing off orders. Lance knows all to well that he is worried out of his mind- although he would never let anyone see him break under pressure. 

"I-I don't know Shiro. One moment we were just standing here and the next we are being attacked by a bunch of Orangish creatures..." Lance remains kneeling next to Keith, eyes darting every which way throughout his explanation. He can hear his heart lurch into his throat when the sounds of something approaching the two sounds from behind him.

His body freezes, distant blaster fire echoing in the distance. Lance can hear screams and shouts move closer and closer to him and Keith. So, he takes no chances. Crouching next to his unconscious friend, blaster drawn and prepared to shoot anyone that moves into the clearing below the red lion. Branches crack and bushes begin to move. Adjusting, re-adjusting his grip religiously until the moving figure made himself known.

* * *

Muscles continue to ache as Keith exits his lion. In retro-spect, parking each of the lions next to each other was more like parking on opposite sides of a mall parking lot. Not to mention the thick shrub that laid across the planet like a quilt. Annoying, is what is was. With an eye roll, he started towards the distant glint of the black lion only to be taken back by a hard clap to his right shoulder.

Turning, with his Bayard activated, he is met with the eyes of Lance who looks almost on the verge of... Tears? A branch cracks from behind him and Lance's eyes go wider than a frightened child's. He body slams Keith to the ground in time for him to hear the distant sound of chucking and whirring.

Wait.

Chucking and whirring?

He had more than one question to shout at Lance, but the expression on the blue paladin's face forced his burning thoughts down.

"Chuck, chuckk, whirrr, chuck, whir."

Keith can hear the muffled sounds of a language he has never heard, Lance tense next to him. They both lay huddled together behind a rather large bush over shadowed by one of the tallest tress Keith has ever seen.

"Chuckkck, whirrrir, chuck, whir."

The voice seeps into the distant before all Keith can hear is the forest settling beneath Lance's frantic breath. 

Eyes darting left and right, he waits until Lance's breathing settles to ask his first of many burning questions. He distantly wonders if this is how Pidge always feels...

"Lance. what. the. fuck."

"Remember how we just saved this planet from total destruction?"

"How could I forget, IT LITERALLY JUST HAPPENED", Keith whisper shouts.

"Maybe we should just let the Galra come back and conquer this place." Keith is taken back by Lance's comment but doesn't say anything aloud. "The moment I walked out of my lion, expecting a parade, these strange orange creatures just open fire on me."

This is when it clicks. The fear, the tension, the panic. They had just saved a planet that had already been conquered. Keith knew, very well, that the Keoterrans carried the appearance that paralleled the Olkarion. With blue skin and marking of purple and green, Keith knew something had already happened to the local population. That, or this has always been the local population. 

I mean, Altean technology is kinda... out of date...

"We need to get out of here", Keith says, beginning to stand from his crouched position next to Lance. "I'll comm Shiro and let him know-"

That's the moment when a force- like that of a strong gust of wind- slams Keith straight to the ground. Head slamming against the solid dirt, he never stood a chance. Black replaces the brilliant blend of green that was the forest. 

 

* * *

So now Lance crouches hesitantly in the bush, willing every fiber of his being for the figure to appear in front of his to not be orange. And when Shiro steps out, hand glowing its usual purple color, Lance sighs in relif. 

“Help him”, he looks down at the unconscious Keith below him. “Please.”

Shiro’s eyes go wide in panic, not knowing how to respond. He knew Keith was hurt, but unconscious and… was that a dislocated shoulder?

It didn’t matter right now, they just needed to get to their lions and get back to the castle. 

“Blue is closer, but I don’t know what to do about his shoulder”, Lance responds to Shiro’s concerned glare, but never takes his eyes off Keith.

“We need to reset it before he wakes up. Otherwise that’s not going to be pleasant”, Shiro’s hands rest on the plate of his armor, searching around the edges for a good angle. “We are going to need to take his chest plate off so we can get a good angle on the full shoulder.”

Lance knows nothing that Shiro is talking about, but what he does know is that Keith’s eyes are starting to flicker open. 

_Shit._

* * *

The world blurs together and fades in and out as Keith slowly opens his eyes. The two colors that he can see the most of are blue and black, but there are touches of green along the edges. A sharp pain radiates from his shoulder, like an open wound it stings, but he feels no blood. It’s almost numbing how strong the pain is, and he almost closes his eyes agin before a voice jolts him back awake.

“Keith, stay with me buddy.”

_Who was that? Shiro?_

“Hey mullet, how ya feeling’?”

_Lance. That was definitely Lance._

He opens his mouth to speak but just groans from the pounding is his head. It’s an overwhelming pulse as he scrunches his eye back shut in pain.

“Keith, i’m going to need you to stay as still as possible, ok?”

He can feel his back being lifted away from the ground, coming with a _sharp,_ piercing pain from his shoulder. Again. 

“Agh”, he lets out a breathy plea, but not daring to move anymore himself then he already was.

The cold plating of his chest plate slides away from him, and it’s especially painful when the hard crease bumps his shoulder.

As he is laid back down, his eyes open, searching the two faces above him. His helmet is gone, but he can hear a distant voice coming from inside Shiro’s helmet. 

“Com the castle. We are going to need a pod for Keith”, Shiro states, looking away from him at the moment.

“Ok, keep me updated Pidge.”

Good. Pidge was ok. It seemed like Hunk was fine, so it was only him who was hurt. 

_Great._

“Ok Keith, your shoulder’s dislocated. I’m going to have to set it back in place. Just hold still”, Shiro is now looking at him, Lance to Keith’s left pressing lightly on his arm.

Shiro gets a kurt nod from Keith as he turns his head to Lance, keeping his eyes shut. 

Theres a moment of hesitation before Shiro sounds off from his right. “I’ll count to three, ok?”

Keith spares him another nod, feeling the pain from the pressure of Shiro’s light touch.

“One-“

And then there is a resounding crack, and the pain becomes unbearable for a quick second. It lingers there, keith biting on his tongue with extreme force. He wants to scream at Shiro for doing with completely no warning, but it’s over now. 

The dull thud in his head returns and he debates falling asleep again. Still woozy from the blast, he feels his body going upright again. 

“Take him to blue, if red doesn’t follow, i’ll have Hunk tow him back to the castle.”

That’s got to be Shiro, but things are starting to blur together again as the pain from his shoulder dulls away, but is replaced by a killer headache.

“Red will follow”, Keith responds, looking up. 

His eyes threaten to close, but he uses all of his will power to keep them open. He can shiro nod and give him a look of recognition. It was a look only he could pick up on. He understands Shiro wants to stay, but he also knows that Keith doesn’t need anyone to baby him. He’s past that.

So Lance turns, with Keith’s left arm wrapped haphazardly around the boys shoulders. His feet try to keep up with his rushed steps, but he stumbles every now and then. Lance will stop, help him get him rhythm back, then continue.

* * *

It takes longer to get back to Blue, Keith continues to struggle along beside him. Shiro took his chest plate and helmet, so Lance only had to worry about getting Keith somewhere safe. Somewhere other than this godforsaken planet.

His neck is begging to stiff into place from holding Keith upright, but he couldn’t care less at the moment. And when blue comes into sight, he can feel Keith begin to pick up his feet with a certain passion.

It only takes another grueling 30 seconds before they enter the mouth of the blue lion. Lance opts to lay Keith in cargo hold on the makeshift bed he has made up. It was there only for emergency purposes, but it would work for now.

“Hang tight mullet”, Lance release his arm as he sits keith down on the bed.

He doesn’t look up, rather nods and slowly lets himself down onto the bed with a sigh. It should be a short ride to the castle based upon the bustle of allure and Pidge chatting through the comms. The conversation was rather up beat, despite having just saved a planet for no reason.

Lance kept that part to himself, sitting down in the pilot seat and nudging blue to take off. He does a once over to make sure the red lion is following. Sure enough, he picks up the lion on his scanners at it breaks through the tree line and pulls into tow with blue. 

Soon enough, blue is breaking through the atmosphere as the castle grows closer and closer on his scanners. 

 

* * *

Keith jolts awake from his state when the blue docks in the hangar. He distantly hopes red was following his mental bond and made it to her** hangar safe. 

The door to the cockpit opens and Lance is soon at his side helping him sit up all the way.

“Hey mullet, sleep well?” Lance teases slowly helping him stand, being extremely careful of his still aching shoulder. 

“Fuck off, Lance”, Keith horses. So far he hasn’t really had the mental strength to say anything, but it just needed to be said.

“Yea, yea mullet.”

They heave on until met with a flustered Shiro. 

“I can take him, you should go get cleaned up Lance”, shiro nods his direction, taking Keiths arm from under him and scooping the other below his knees. 

Lifting him with ease, Shiro begins to walk off towards the med bay. 

Leaving Lance to clean himself up and try to figure out what had actually just happened. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of this is just a complete failure™


End file.
